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Constellation Class Frigate (Timeline B)
The Constellation-class frigate is not, in fact, a dedicated warship. It is instead a scientific vessel with secondary combat capabilities, launched in 4130 in the hopes of starting a whole new era of peaceful, scientific exploration. However, RAS Constellation's brief service - including an attack on Darth Acheron's dreadnaught Ravager - have shown that her pulse-lancers and remarkable speed, acceleration and agility have made her a powerful combatant as well as the best vessel in the galaxy for exploring the final frontier. One more point of interest on Constellation is her extremely low crew complement. Because the ship is designed for extremely long-range missions with few stops for resupply, the number of crewmembers (who need to be fed, after all) was lowered dramatically by automating as many systems as possible. Capabilities Weapons Constellation's primary weapons are pulse-lancers. These are based on the same principles as standard lancers, but rather than firing a beam of energy they fire what has been described as an "orb" of energy. The result is a weapon that uses an extremely different technique to create a similar effect to a turbolaser; pulse-lancers are, however, much more powerful. The Constellation is additionally equipped with three torpedo tubes, two forward and one aft. The Constellation-class cruiser's pulse-lancers are mounted so as to give the ship a complete firing arc; there are no blind spots, and the ship can effectively engage a target in any direction. The reason for so many weapons on a vessel of exploration is that it's been proven time and time again that when venturing into unknown territory, not all civilizations you find will welcome you with open arms. Beyond the edge of the galaxy, there is no one to answer a distress signal, so the Constellations must be powerful enough to fend for themselves. Defenses The Constellation-class is equipped with powerful, redundant shield generators. This is because the hull plating is extremely weak; if the shields were able to be destroyed in battle, the ship would be all but defenseless. The pulse-lancers can be fired like normal lancers, as beams of energy. This setting is fairly weak, as the weapons are designed to be fired only as orbs, but it can be effectively used as a point-defense system. Engines Constellation's unique quality is, of course, her space/warp propulsion system. An alternative FTL system, the warp drive does not allow entrance into a parallel dimension of hyperspace but instead warps the fabric of space and time in our own dimension. The result is that the ship can travel faster than light - yet in the warped bubble of space around the ship, the ship obeys all the laws of physics. In layman's terms, the warp drive increases the speed of light inside the bubble. Because the ship never leaves this dimension, the warp drive can be used tactically to give the ship a rapid burst of acceleration. The result is that Constellation is actually fast enough to dodge the majority of enemy turbolaser fire, and most incoming missiles are defeated by the point-defense system. These two factors, along with the powerful pulse-lancers, make Constellation-class frigates capable of engaging ships much larger and more powerful than themselves (though the tactical implications of the warp drive weren't realized until the ship's space trials began). Known Ships RN-1700, RAS Constellation, class ship. CO - Captain Matt Reynolds. Category:Fourth Republic Category:Timeline B Category:Out-of-date Article